


If your friends act suspicious, question it

by JemmyMads



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Chaos, Fluff, Friends as Family, Kim Mingyu is Whipped, M/M, Minghao is a sweetheart, jeonghan is a menace, mingyu being a cute dummy, so is everyone else
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:55:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27536392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JemmyMads/pseuds/JemmyMads
Summary: Minghao asks Mingyu to meet his parents. Mingyu might jump to conclusions, but his friends certainly don't help.Mingyu learns the hard way, when his friends act suspicious, he really should question it.(It doesn't turn out like Mingyu imagined)
Relationships: Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Yoon Jeonghan, Kim Mingyu/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 1
Kudos: 58





	If your friends act suspicious, question it

**Author's Note:**

> Hello my lovely Carats!
> 
> Just a little fluff and happiness for anyone who might be having a hard time or needs a break. Love you all, hope you enjoy :)
> 
> PS this is entirely inspired by svt being cute supporters at bungee jumping, we all were soft for them after that

“Seokmin I swear to god, stop laughing and start helping.”

Seokmin did not stop laughing, taking one look at Mingyu’s distressed face and dissolving into another fit of giggles.

“This isn’t funny.” Mingyu whined, trying to appeal to Seokmin’s sweet side, “I’m scared.”

“Gyu, and I mean this with the utmost amount of love, you’re a dipshit.” Seokmin said. He took a sip of his hot chocolate, swallowed, and carried on, “I mean like an actual dipshit.”

Mingyu frowned, “Those were not the words of encouragement and affection that I was expecting from you.”

Seokmin shrugged, “I just think you’re overreacting.”

And overreacting was something Mingyu was most certainly not doing. It wasn’t everyday your adorable, amazing, perfect boyfriend asked you to meet his parents. Mingyu was truthfully freaking out a little.

“I’m not overreacting.” Mingyu huffed, “I have every right to be terrified out of my mind.”

Seokmin visibly softened. He reached across the table and grasped Mingyu’s hand, “It’ll be fine, Gyu, I promise. I really don’t think you need to worry so much.”

Mingyu turned his hand over to grasp Seokmin’s properly. Despite the teasing, he always knew how to help Mingyu calm down.

Minghao had kind of sprung it on Mingyu earlier this morning as they laid together before classes. He said he wanted Mingyu to  _ properly _ meet his parents, family dinner style if he was up for it, and suggested sometime during the weekend.

Mingyu hadn’t even known that Minghao’s parents were going to be in town, let alone that they would want to meet Mingyu. He supposed it made sense, after all what parent wouldn’t want to meet their son’s boyfriend of nearly 7 months (7 blessed, amazing months), and the quick hellos and check ins that they exchanged over the phone hardly counted.

Mingyu had agreed, peppered Minghao in kisses until he was bright red and an adorable mix of exasperated and fond, and got ready for classes. After dropping Minghao off at the art building, he panicked and texted Seokmin to meet at their emergency cafe for advice and coffee.

Seokmin always pulled through.

“Don’t overthink it, you already know his parents anyways.” Seokmin continued, still holding Mingyu’s hand but now staring out at the street, watching students walk passed.

“Not really.” Mingyu argued, somewhat pettily. “I mean, I’ve kind of talked to them, but not enough to really feel like I  _ know _ them know them, you know?”

“They’re amazing, you’re amazing, Hao’s amazing… Honestly I’m kind of jealous I don’t get to come along.” Seokmin said, in lieu of offering a real reply.

“Hold on you’ve met them?”

Seokmin gave Mingyu a look, “Yeah? You knew that.”

Mingyu really hadn’t, but didn’t want to offend Seokmin by arguing.

“Oh right.”

They lapsed into a quick silence.

Minghao had already met Mingyu’s parents and charmed their pants off easily. Some days, when Mingyu was busy with his internship or projects, Minghao went and met up with his parents instead, going on hikes and bike rides or making meals for them. It didn’t come as a surprise, but Mingyu was jealous of how easily Minghao had won them over.

Mingyu could only hope Minghao’s parents would like him half as much as Mingyu’s liked him.

Seungkwan pushed the door open with flare, bells jingling harshly, “Seokmin-hyung you owe me a coffee and a scone.”

Seokmin didn’t bother refuting, “Which bet is it for now?”

“I got Chan to curse me out three times in one hour.”

“We didn’t have a bet on that!”

“I know,” Seungkwan shrugged and slid into the seat besides Mingyu, stealing a bite of his muffin, “But I deserve some congratulations on that, right?”

Mingyu pulled his plate away with a glare, “We will not condone you bullying Chan.”

Seokmin was already standing up, “I will, that’s amazing.”

“I will not condone you bullying Chan.” Mingyu corrected himself. He called after Seokmin, “Don’t encourage this behavior.”

“Doesn’t matter to me,” Seungkwan’s hand darted out with disturbingly practiced ease, taking another chunk of Mingyu’s muffin, “I wasn’t asking you to get me food anyways.”

Mingyu didn’t retort, arguments with Seungkwan were futile anyways.

“Hey Kwannie, any advice on meeting parents?” Mingyu asked instead.

Seungkwan was a certified people person. Mingyu had never met someone with the same level of confidence and ease as Seungkwan when it came to meeting new people. It didn’t matter if it was an 80 year old who hadn’t smiled in a decade or a crying baby, Seungkwan could worm his way into anyone’s heart.

“Sure,” Seungkwan offered, “I’ve heard daycares around 9 in the morning are swarming with them.”

Mingyu hit his arm, “Do you always have to be a smartass.”

“No, you just make it too easy.”

Seokmin joined them again and slid Seungkwan’s iced americano and blueberry scone across the table, “What’s easy? Picking on Mingyu?”

“That too.” Seungkwan said, gratefully sipping from his drink before giving Mingyu his full attention again, “So you’re finally meeting the parents, huh? Didn’t even know they were gonna be in town.”

“Yeah, Saturday night.” Mingyu repressed a shutter, “I’m gonna screw up, aren’t I.”

“Probably.” Seungkwan replied nonchalantly.

“No!” Seokmin jabbed at Seungkwan’s side, “Have some faith, you’ll be great.”

Seungkwan’s eyes narrowed, “Wait Saturday night?  _ This _ Saturday night?”

Mingyu cocked his head, “Yeah, why? Shit, did we have something planned?”

“No,” Seungkwan waved him off, “No it’s just that Chan said-”

Seokmin nudged Seungkwan.  _ Hard _ . “Not now.”

“Ow, hyung!”

Mingyu didn’t bother to read into their weird antics, it was better not to question it.

“This has been entirely unhelpful, I’m going to meet up with Wonwoo-hyung to study,” Mingyu grabbed his things and waved goodbye.

“Oh boy.” Seungkwan muttered as he pushed through the door.

  
  
  
  


“His parents?” Wonwoo asked, head cocked, “You shouldn’t be so nervous about that.”

“Hyung I’ve only ever talked to them on the phone!” Mingyu tried to explain, “And only two of those times were without Minghao already talking to them.”

Wonwoo shushed him and glanced around the library nervously. They were in the communal section, where talking was allowed, but it was better for everyone involved if their voices didn’t get too loud.

“What do you mean over the- oh.  _ Oh _ .” Wonwoo snickered, “I see your problem.”

Mingyu nodded emphatically, “Thank you. You’re the first person all day.”

“First person of how many?”

“Three.” Mingyu muttered, somewhat grumpily.

Wonwoo laughed, “This is really bugging you isn’t it.”

Wonwoo had known Mingyu since high school. They had been more acquaintances than friends at the time, running with the same crowd but never really getting to know each other on a personal level. When Wonwoo had found out Mingyu would be going to the same college as him, he had reached out and they became fast friends. Sometimes, Mingyu mourned their lost time together.

Still, Mingyu didn’t appreciate being teased.

“Yes it’s really bugging me! What if they don’t like me! What if they think I’m too loud? Or too tall? Or that I’m not good enough for Minghao.”

“Oh they’ll definitely think all of those things,” Wonwoo said, “ _ I  _ think all of those things, and I’m your best friend.”

Mingyu batted a hand at him, “Hao’s my best friend.”

“I was just saying that to make you feel better.”

“You were  _ insulting _ me!”

“Anyways!” Wonwoo batted his hand back at Mingyu aggressively, “Anyways, do you have anything planned?”

“No?” Mingyu frowned. Oh shit. “Oh  _ shit _ !”

Wonwoo reeled backwards to avoid Mingyu’s flailing arms, “What? What’s ‘oh shit’?”

“Hyung I need to go! I need to plan!”

  
  
  
  
  


As it turned out, Mingyu did not get to plan that day. He had two lectures than a lab, followed by tutoring in the library. Once he was done, he was tired and ready to curl up with his boyfriend and forget the entire rollercoaster of the day.

Of course, before he could do that, he had to go about the hardest part of his day; wrangling his boyfriend into going home.

“I  _ promise _ this time, just like 7 and a half more minutes.” Minghao said, tugging Mingyu into the practice room.

“That’s an oddly specific number.”

“It’s all I need.”

Mingyu pouted, “Fine. I’m timing it.”

It took another 30 minutes to get Minghao out of the studio, calling goodnights to Jun and Soonyoung as they went.

It was part of what Mingyu loved about Minghao. His pure, unfiltered passion. Minghao was so ambitious, so full of creativity that he was able to channel into something beautiful. Maybe Mingyu was blinded by love, but he swore he had never seen anyone quite as hardworking as Minghao.

They walked hand-in-hand home, taking turns to talk about their days. Minghao had had an equally as exhausting day, but was oddly energized after his dance practice.

“It’s gonna be so amazing, Gyu, we’re planning the entire weekend so we can go to the beach and film.” He gushed, tugging slightly on Mingyu’s hand.

Mingyu beamed, “It sounds awesome, I can’t wait to see what you guys create.”

“You’ll come with us, right?” Minghao asked, not sounding unsure, but just a little shy.

“Of course.” Mingyu reassured. How could he ever say no.

“Great, Wonwoo-hyung is coming too, so you won’t be entirely alone.” Minghao added, almost as an afterthought.

“I never feel alone around you.”

Minghao’s cheeks flushed and he pulled his hand away, “ _ Gross _ . Too cheesy. Take it back.”

“Wha- Are you serious? You’re ridiculous,” Mingyu laughed, tugging Minghao against his side and slinging an arm over his shoulder. “You love my cheesy.”

“Can’t stand it.”

“You  _ love _ it.”

Minghao snorted, “You’re a dork, you know that?”

Mingyu held the door to their apartment building open for him, “Mmm, you tell me everyday.”

They didn’t live together, but practically were at this point. Minghao lived one floor up, a happy coincidence when they first started dating. They spent most of their time at Mingyu’s, a warm, clean paradise littered with sentimental photos and small trinkets. Though Minghao’s was just as homely and cozy, it was certainly messier. There was always a new project going on, be it some 6 foot canvas laid on the floor or thrifted clothes in the midst of being upcycled, Minghao’s apartment was the epitome of organized chaos.

Mingyu made them both dinner while Minghao took a shower and slipped into some comfy clothes. They ate together on the couch, something Mingyu had only started doing after he started dating Minghao. Minghao cleaned the dishes while Mingyu washed up and they ended up on the couch together once again, some corny romance playing in the background.

“Hey so, about my parents.” Minghao started, clearly trying to ease Mingyu into the conversation instead of just springing it on him as he had in the morning.

Mingyu still tensed up and glanced down at Minghao with no doubt frightful eyes, “Do they already hate me?”

Minghao’s eyebrows furrowed, “No, you know they don’t.”

“Just making sure. I’ve been told I don’t make good first impressions. And that I’m too loud, and tall, and that you’re too good for me.”

Minghao laughed, “Well I mean, I can’t disagree there.”

Mingyu nudged him. He nudged back.

“But seriously, I invited our friends over for after dinner so you won’t suffocate.” Minghao told him, eyes already alight with excitement.

“Hold on, have all our friends met your parents?” Mingyu asked, trying to recall whether that would even be possible considering Chan had only moved to the city a little under a year ago.

Minghao gave him a weird look, “Yeah? You knew that?”

“Why am I the only one who hasn’t met them?” Mingyu wasn’t offended, truly, he just wanted to know.

Minghao rolled his eyes, “You have met them.”

“Phone call doesn’t count.”

Another weird look. “I know.”

They lapsed into silence. Mingyu stared at Minghao in apprehension, Minghao stared right back in confusion.

He shook himself and Mingyu startled. 

“Well anyways, you’re okay with that, right?” Minghao double checked, sending Mingyu another assessing look.

Mingyu smiled, soft and sincere, “As long as you are, so am I.”

Minghao smiled back, tilting his head just slightly upwards, “Good answer.”

Mingyu pressed a soft kiss to his lips, relishing in just being so close to him.

  
  
  
  


Joshua plucked the pen from Mingyu’s hand as he went to nervously doodle another shape on the back of his hand.

“Mingyu-ah your nervous energy is making  _ me _ nervous.” He berated, “And I don’t get nervous!”

Mingyu sighed and let his head fall to the table with a, slightly exaggerated, whine.

Joshua and Jihoon had wanted to have breakfast with him before classes that day, so they had agreed to meet at the quaint diner right off campus where Jeonghan worked. Jeonghan wasn’t on shift, luckily, but had dialed in to give them a discount. Jihoon was running late, something about Jun and a misplaced sock.

Joshua was usually good with advice, and Mingyu needed all the help he could get.

“I’m sorry hyung I’m just really nervous.” He said into the table, hearing rather than seeing the snort that Joshua gave in response. “I  _ need _ them to like me.”

“They do like you, though.” Joshua said. He reached out and ran a comforting hand through Mingyu’s hair. “You know that they like you.”

“Not really though.” Mingyu argued. Why was everyone saying that to him?

“Yes really, I can confirm.”

Mingyu reeled backwards, “Hold on, so you have met them?”

“Of course I’ve met them!” Joshua peered at Mingyu, “Are you serious?”

“Why am I the only one who hasn’t met them?” Mingyu murmured, more to himself than to Joshua.

Still, Joshua’s eyebrows raised inquisitively, “You have met them.”

Jihoon slid into the booth besides Joshua, “Sorry I’m late, the misplaced sock has been found.”

They dropped the conversation after that and ordered, their server a nice girl from their university named Handong who never missed an opportunity to tease Jeonghan, much to all of their delight.

“I don’t even think he’s allowed to do that,” Handong complained as she set their coffees down, “You can’t just  _ call in _ for a discount.”

Mingyu laughed and thanked her, “It’s Jeonghan-hyung, what did you expect.”

“He has everyone wrapped around his finger,” Handong agreed. She smiled at them, “Your food will be out in a few minutes.”

Jihoon sipped idly at his coffee before saying, “So Minghao told me you were going to be meeting his parents officially.”

Joshua nudged him, “They’ve already met, this is just an excuse for them.”

“Excuse?” Mingyu perked up, “What do you mean excuse?”

Joshua waved him off, “Don’t worry about it, you’ll be fine.”

“They already hate me, don’t they?” Mingyu groaned, only slightly playing up the dramatics for the sake of getting more sympathy.

“You idiot, you know they love you.” Jihoon scowled, “As annoying as it is, you’re basically as much of a son to them as Minghao is.”

“They told you that?”

Jihoon rolled his eyes, “They didn’t need to, I could just tell.”

Mingyu didn’t stop to question that, feeling inexplicably happy at Jihoon’s words. He knew that they at least liked him already, and were always praising his photography skills and thanking him for looking out for Minghao, but he still couldn’t shake the fear of doing something wrong. Minghao adored his parents, and Mingyu wanted to make a good impression on them.

Joshua patted his hand, “I really think you’re missing what’s right in front of you. You don’t have any reason to be truly scared.”

Mingyu wished his friends would stop being so cryptic.

  
  
  
  


So  _ maybe _ panic texted Hansol and Chan at 4 in the morning on Saturday. And  _ maybe _ he bribed them into coming over to calm him down.

He should’ve known they would be the opposite of calm.

“Hyung this is bordering on ridiculous.” Chan piped up as he watched Mingyu toss aside the fifth shirt he had pulled out. “I mean, it’s not even five yet, the sun hasn’t even risen, what the hell are you so panicked for?”

Chan was sitting cross legged on Mingyu’s bed, taking big gulps of coffee periodically as he fought off sleep. Hansol wasn’t much better. He was draped horizontally across the bed, feet dangling off one side and arm laying across his face to block out the harsh lights.

Mingyu felt a pang of guilt for getting them up so early. But as always, when he called for help, his friends came running.

“I need it to be perfect.” Mingyu explained, rifling through his closet some more. “I need to have my outfit picked out already so I can concentrate on cooking later. And my outfit needs to be perfect.”

“They already know what you dress like though.” Chan said with a cocked head.

Mingyu didn’t have time to refute that.

Hansol sat up, “What style are you going for here?”

Mingyu paused. Oh god he really hadn’t thought this through. 

He whirled around, panic rising in him once again, “I don’t know! I didn’t ask Hao if it was casual or like, nice but casual or like, fancy but barely trying-”

Chan hopped off the bed and went to Mingyu, placing his hands on his shoulders, “Hyung, it’s okay, they’ll like whatever you show up in. You know they will.”

“But what if I show up in jeans and everyone else is expecting it to be fancy!” Mingyu was starting to spiral. He knew it, and by the looks on his friends’ faces, they knew it too.

Chan gently tugged Mingyu to his bed, “Okay, hyung, this is what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna sleep some more, just two or three more hours, and at a reasonable time, when Minghao-hyung is awake, we’ll text him and ask in a very calm manner.”

“You need some more sleep, hyung.” Hansol chimed, already making room for Mingyu to lay down, “Just three more hours won’t hurt.”

Mingyu seriously had the best friends. Chan turned off the lights and joined them on the bed. Hansol and Chan were not the biggest about being physically affectionate, they shied away from it most of the time and opted to show their love in different ways.

Even so, they knew that Mingyu thrived off of affection, loved to be close to others and preened under contact. So, they huddled close on either side and stayed there as Mingyu nodded off.

  
  
  
  
  


Hansol and Chan stayed over well into the morning, helping to keep Mingyu calm and picking out his outfit once Minghao got back to them. They didn’t leave until Jun and Soonyoung came to take over, calling good lucks over their shoulders as they left.

Jun joined Mingyu in the kitchen unprompted, “What are we making?”

Mingyu felt a renewed sense of love swell up in him as Jun began gathering ingredients and Soonyoung set up a cooking playlist.

“So why are you freaking out about what you’re cooking them?” Soonyoung asked, snagging a piece of baking chocolate from the chopping board. His face screwed up at the bitter taste and he placed the rest back with a betrayed look. “I mean, they’ve already tasted your cooking.”

Mingyu shot him a confused look, “No they haven’t. I’ve never met them in person before.”

“Yes you have.” Soonyoung had the audacity to look affronted.

Mingyu flicked the top of a strawberry at him, feeling oddly satisfied when it connected with his temple perfectly. “No I haven’t, only ever on the phone.”

Soonyoung puckered his face, “I was literally  _ with _ you-”

“Youngie.” Jun cut him off with a laugh. With Soonyoung’s attention on him, he shook his head. “He doesn’t understand.”

Mingyu looked between the two, “What don’t I understand? What am I missing?”

Soonyoung began laughing, hunching over as his giggles wracked his body, “Oh boy Gyu, you’re really something, you know that?”

“Don’t tease, Youngie,” Jun tried to berate, but it fell flat with how much he himself was laughing.

“You two are menaces.” Mingyu grumbled, feeling sorely left out of whatever running joke their entire friend group had going except him.

“Only for you, Gyu-ah.” Jun teased with a wink. He knocked their hips together, “The batter’s ready, I’ll start making the frosting.”

“You annoying, amazing, little pest.” Mingyu planted a wet kiss to Jun’s cheek, who cackled loudly in response.

“You sure you and Hao aren’t open to a threesome?” He asked.

“Make it a foursome!” Soonyoung piped up as he stuffed a strawberry into his mouth.

“Not with you two, no.” Mingyu shot back. He snatched the bowl of strawberries away from Soonyoung. “Hands off, dumbass, these are for decoration.”

They continued to make the atmosphere light as they finished making the cake. Jun and Soonyoung could be a disastrous duo when left unchecked, but with the united goal of teasing Mingyu and keeping his mind off his impending doom, they were perfect sweethearts.

Once the cake was baking and the decorations were ready for arrangement, Mingyu pushed a bowl of berries to Soonyoung with a grateful smile.

“Thanks for keeping me company, I’m sure I’d be a nervous wreck without someone here for distraction.”

“Our pleasure,” Jun replied with a shrug. He was going through Mingyu’s cabinets, no doubt looking for his hidden supply of mini Oreos. “It’s fun seeing you so anxious anyways. We never see you like this.”

He turned around with a triumphant cry, holding the bag up for the other two to see. Soonyoung snorted and flicked a blueberry at him, getting it stuck in his hair.

“You can’t say that to his face. Behind his back, sure, but not to his face.”

Mingyu rolled his eyes at the two, “Thank you, dear friends, for your bout of confidence in me.”

Soonyoung and Jun exchanged a telling look.

“You’re seriously overthinking this. Like so overthinking it that I don’t think you will ever realize how much you need to underthink this.” Soonyoung said. Not the best advice.

“What he means is,” Jun paused and looked at Soonyoung again, “I’m actually not sure what he means. We need Seungkwan here for interpretation.”

“What I mean is, you’ve dug your own grave.”

“Oh!” Jun nodded enthusiastically, “That’s a great way to put this!”

“Wow, I’m really feeling the love right now.” Mingyu grumbled. This was not what he needed to hear right now.

Soonyoung shrugged, “You’ll understand.”

Before Mingyu could grill Soonyoung further, he was horrible under pressure and very easy to crack, Minghao was letting himself in the front door.

As always, Mingyu forgot why he was worried just by seeing his boyfriend.

Call him cheesy, Minghao sure did, but he just had that effect on him.

“Hello my dapper boyfriend,” He greeted Minghao, pulling him close by the waist to press a gentle kiss to his lips.

Soonyoung and Jun made gagging noises. Minghao flipped them off.

“Hello my sappy boyfriend, I thought I should come by and make sure they’re not annoying you to death.”

Soonyoung and Jun’s gagging turned into noises of offense.

“Or that you weren’t annoying them to death.” Minghao added with a cheeky grin.

Mingyu smacked his arm playfully as Jun and Soonyoung agreed loudly.

Minghao turned to them, “I love having a live audience.”

Soonyoung cheered. Jun booed.

“Stop tormenting my boyfriend,” Mingyu nagged, resting his chin on Minghao’s shoulder and childishly sticking his tongue out at them.

“But then who will we torment?” Soonyoung pouted, sounding genuinely put out.

“Not my problem.” Mingyu said.

“Go bug Seokmin, I could hear him singing from my apartment.” Minghao suggested.

Soonyoung and Jun perked up at the notion of someone new to annoy.

“Is he home?” Jun asked.

Minghao gave hima look, “Go find out for yourself.”

The pair did just that, leaving in a flurry and shouting half assed good lucks to Mingyu as they left.

Minghao turned to him again, “How much longer until the cake’s ready?”

“Mmm, probably another 35 minutes,” Mingyu guessed, pulling Minghao closer to him and capturing his lips with his own.

Minghao hummed against him, draping his arms languidly around Mingyu’s neck, “Perfect. Just enough time for me to distract you.”

  
  
  
  


Luckily, the cake did not end up burning.

Minghao kept him company as he finished decorating it, snagging a few strawberries and raspberries when he thought Mingyu wasn’t looking.

Mingyu gestured to it with a flourish, searching for validation. 

Minghao giggled at his theatrics and gave his cheek an appreciative kiss, “Looks delicious. Go get changed and we’ll head out.”

Minghao had nodded his approval at Mingyu’s outfit choice, a simple sweater and black jeans combo, and gave him one last kiss before they left together.

Mingyu truly couldn’t hide his anxiety as they got closer and closer to wherever they were meeting Mingao’s parents. Minghao noticed and unwound their arms, taking Mingyu’s hand in his own and giving it a small squeeze.

“Our friends are right you know,” He murmured as they turned down another block, heading into an oddly familiar neighborhood.

Mingyu made a noise of confusion, glancing quickly at his boyfriend, who merely shook his head.

“You really are overthinking.”

They stopped in front of an apartment building and Minghao input the code, the door buzzing and unlocking.

Mingyu’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “Your parents have an apartment here? I thought we would go to a hotel.”

Minghao laughed, loud and delighted, “Mingyu, babe, I love you but you can be incredibly dense.”

They climbed three flights and stairs, Mingyu’s dread growing as they went. What was he missing? What the hell did his friends mean all this time? What did  _ Minghao _ mean?

They stopped in front of a familiar door and Mingyu wracked his brain for an answer he wasn’t going to get.

Minghao had barely knocked on the door before it was swinging open.

Mingyu’s heart stopped.

Jeonghan was standing there, beaming his adorably contagious smile. “Come in! Seungcheollie was just finishing dinner, he wouldn’t let me into the kitchen to help.”

“You would cause more harm than good, Hannie!” Seungcheol called back.

Minghao and Mingyu stepped in, Jeonghan helping Minghao out of his coat and snatching the cake from Mingyu’s hands, “Try not to gawk too much, Gyu, I know I’m attractive but you do have a boyfriend.”

Minghao snorted and followed Jeonghan further into the apartment, “Don’t tease him, he didn’t put the pieces together. I think he’s still processing.”

“ _ These  _ are your parents?” Mingyu cried, coming to his senses to throw his boyfriend an accusatory pout.

“They like to call themselves that, yeah.” Minghao smiled at him pulling him to sit besides him on the couch, “I really thought you had known until like, three hours ago.”

“Why would I have known that?” Mingyu wasn’t actually upset, but he did want to play it up a bit to get some more affection from his boyfriend. If anything, he felt a bit silly at not having put it together earlier.

“It’s not like they’re discrete or anything.” Minghao pointed out.

Jeonghan came in and set some drinks down in front of them before flopping into an armchair. “Shua told me you didn’t understand, so I convinced our friends to go along with it.”

“That’s why they kept telling me I was overthinking.” Mingyu said, more to himself than the others. He garnered a laugh from the other two either way.

Seungcheol came in, smelling of garlic and spices. He leaned against Jeonghan’s armchair and rested his hand in his boyfriend’s hair. “If it helps, I tried to get them to tell you. But, I mean, you know our friends, they are far more likely to join Jeonghan than go against him.”

“As they should.” Jeonghan said with a happy nod. “They know what I’m capable of.”

Seungcheol sighed and pressed a light kiss to Jeonghan’s temple, “Sure sweetheart. Dinner’s ready. Jeonghan has been looking forward to grilling you all day, so sorry ahead of time Gyu.”

Mingyu waved off his apology, “Guess I should’ve suspected that.”

“Think of this as a test run for when you actually meet Hao’s parents.” Seungcheol offered.

“You’re failing, by the way.” Jeonghan added.

Minghao scoffed, “You two are horrible.”

Seungcheol led them to the dining area where multiple dishes were already set out. Jeonghan poured everyone some wine, himself and Minghao getting a noticeable amount more. 

Seungcheol rolled his eyes at his boyfriend’s antics and pinched his side, “Don’t play favorites.”

“But he’s my son.” Jeonghan whined, “He gets special treatment.”

Minghao served them, already launching into telling Seungcheol and Jeonghan about the dance project they were filming next week. Jeonghan and Seungcheol listened with rapt attention, asking the right questions and giving Minghao words of encouragement. Like real parents would.

It didn’t surprise Mingyu, not as much as it should. Everyone always joked about how Jeonghan and Seungcheol were undeniably, parent-like to them all. Sure the pair could be immature as all hell, especially when Jeonghan got competitive or bored, but they still had a strange inclination towards looking after everybody. Mingyu was admittedly less attuned to their habits because he and Wonwoo had joined their friend group later, but that didn’t spare him from Seungcheol’s nagging or Jeonghan’s fussing.

And, likewise, it didn’t surprise Mingyu to see them genuinely treating Minghao with the care of parents. The undivided attention, the gentle reminders to not work too hard, the check in with how his sleeping was; it all screamed domesticity.

Mingyu had seen it all before. Jeonghan holding a crying Seokmin after he failed a test he had studied hard for; Mingyu offering the pair some tea and rubbing Seokmin’s back. Seungcheol carrying a passed out Chan from the dance studio after his teacher informed him that he was sleeping there at 2 in the morning; Mingyu trailing behind them, hands ready in case Chan’s small body began to slide.

And here again, looking after Minghao. Prompting him to eat, blowing on the food when it was too hot.

“Mingyu-ah, are you with us?” Seungcheol snapped his fingers in front of Mingyu’s face, eyebrows pulled together in concern.

Jeonghan was watching him, “Are you sleeping okay? I know you said that your neighbor has been keeping you up. You can always spend the night here if you need.”

That same concern, now turned on Mingyu, unprompted.

Mingyu smiled, “Sorry, yeah I’m fine. Hao, tell them about that linguistics professor that tried to correct your Mandarin.”

Minghao launched into his story and dinner was a fun, albeit uneventful, affair after that. Mingyu told them about his internship and only slightly blushed when they praised him for pursuing photography. 

Jeonghan updated them on his quest to try every beignet in the city (“There’s a surprising amount of places that will make them if you just ask” “What he means is he is rather good at seducing people into making desserts for him. I would know.” “Seungcheol!”). 

Seungcheol told them all about his job at the radio station, specifically about the eccentric antics of some of the new employees (“One of them is already on our threesome list” “ _ Jesus _ Hannie, they do not need to know that” “His name’s Matthew, if you ever see him around, we have dibs” “ _ Jeonghan _ ” “He could fuck me into tom-”).

By the time Jeonghan was clearing the dishes, they were all pleasantly tipsy and comfortable. Seungcheol trailed after Jeonghan, lamenting about not trusting him without supervision.

Minghao tucked himself into Mingyu’s side with a happy sigh, “Not the night you were expecting, right?”

“No,” Mingyu laughed, nuzzling his head into Minghao’s hair, “Not at all.”

“But you had fun?”

“Of course.” Mingyu pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head, “Loved it. I love them. I love  _ you _ .”

Minghao hummed happily, vibrations tickling Mingyu’s side, “I love you too. And them, though I can’t tell them because Jeonghannie-hyung will be even more convinced I’m his son in another life.”

“At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

They lapsed into a comfortable silence. Seungcheol and Jeonghan and bickering in the kitchen, though their laughter indicated it was another stupid little argument that they usually got into.

“Oh god.” Mingyu said, a thought dawning on him.

Minghao hummed.

“Our friends are coming over.” Mingyu continued.

Minghao hummed again.

“I’m gonna get teased so bad. I’m never gonna live this down.” Mingyu bemoaned, already dreading the little jabs and jokes he was going to be the butt of.

Minghao hummed again, “Yes well, you are a bit of a dumbass.”

Mingyu made an affronted noise, eliciting a laugh from Minghao who leaned up just enough to peck his lips. “But you’re my dumbass, so I’ll protect you from those bullies.

  
  
  
  


Not even 30 minutes later, Minghao was throwing him under the bus.

“Even when we were standing right in front of the door, mind you the apartment door that Mingyu has been to, hell he’s nearly broken this door before, he still had no idea!”

Mingyu really did love his friends. Doesn’t mean he won’t retaliate the second he gets the chance.

**Author's Note:**

> someone convince me to do uni work instead of writing please <3
> 
> anyways, hope you all enjoyed, comments and kudos are always appreciated!
> 
> everyone stay healthy and safe, love you all :)


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